Social security in the English-speaking Caribbean

Over the last years issues concerning social security have become important items on the economic and political agenda as given current projections, the financial sustainability of current social security schemes is questioned. Research on social security in the Caribbean is however rather limited, providing decision makers with few answers on how to tackle the issue of reform in the region. This paper highlights the current status of social security in the region. By presenting indicators of recent performance and identifying challenges that schemes in the region face, the study aims to contr…

Economic survey of the Caribbean 2004-2005

Major statistical publications- abstracts. Vol VIII

Report on the national training workshop in the ECLAC methodology for estimating the socio-economic and environmental effects of disasters. 19-21 April 2005, Cayman Islands

Measuring the information society in the Caribbean: An assessment of the capabilities of statistical offices in CDCC member states

Population Ageing - Subregional Challenges of a Global Phenomenon

Preliminary overview of Caribbean economies, 2003-2004

Outlines the economic performance of Caribbean economies over the calendar year 2003. Discusses the aggregate showing and general trends of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States. Provides a brief overview of each member State's fiscal and monetary policies; external sector; inflation, unemployment, and wages; and sectors of activity. Describes the general trends among the other Caribbean countries. Presents detailed overviews of each country's performance over the period as with the OECS member states.…

Challenges in meeting the monitoring requirements of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs): an examination of selected social statistics for four Caribbean small island developing states

This document seeks to characterise the challenges faced by Caribbean countries in meeting the monitoring requirements of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). An examination and analysis of infrastructural capacity and key data issues are presented. Requirements for capacity building in the field of social statistics in the subregion are also explored. Selected social indicators of the MDGs, accompanied by technical notes, definitions and relevant discussions on the indicators are detailed. The sources of data are the 1990 and 2000/2001 population census of the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize an…

Yachting in the Eastern Caribbean: a regional overview

Describes the impetus for the Netherlands-funded project NET/00/79 Development of Marine-based Strategy and the role of the report on Yachting in that venture. Provides working definitions of various yachts, the yachting industry, tourists, and yachting establishments. Discusses generally the relevance of the yachting industry to Caribbean tourism and economies. Explores the human and social dimension of yachting and provides and overview of the environmental issues related to the yachting sector. Identifies the challenges facing the industry, such as lack of recognition, crime, and la…

Issues, effects and implications of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) Agreement for CARICOM economies

The objective of this document is to analyse some of the main issues, effects and implications of the FTAA for Caribbean Community (CARICOM) economies. It also considers when relevant and for comparison purposes the cases of non-independent States. The document is divided into seven sections. Following the introduction, the second section describes, albeit briefly, the main issues that are found in the Free Trade Areas literature. The third section introduces the FTAA participants highlighting their economic and social disparities. The fourth section centers on the FTAA underlying principles …

Fiscal trends and policy issues and implications for the Caribbean

This document analyses fiscal trends and policies for Caribbean countries. It is divided into six parts. Following the introduction, the second section focuses on trends in government revenue and examines the tax structure at the regional and country level. The third section describes the type of tax incentives granted by Caribbean governments for sectoral development for selected country cases. The fourth part centres on government expenditure; describes the decomposition of government expenditure and analyses the behaviour of the components of government expenditure. The fifth section deals …

Progress made in the implementation of the CARICOM single market and economy

This paper examines the progress in the implementation of the CSME and what this has meant for the core (trade, investment, etc.); and functional aspects (foreign policy coordination, education, health and social development, etc.,); of integration. A tentative assessment is also made of the relevance of the current mode of integration in light of the opportunities and constraints of the international environment. The paper is divided into three sections. Section one provides a critical assessment of the implementation of the protocols and other aspects of the CSME. Section two evaluates the …

Caribbean tourism, trends, policies and impact, 1985-2002

This paper provides an overview of the structure and performance of the Caribbean tourism sector. It evaluates the role of policies and strategies as they impact the growth and competitiveness of the sector. Although the paper is not definitive on the subject, it provides some initial work on aspects of the industry that are not the typical focus of research. These include industrial structure, evaluated in terms of size, concentration, economies of scale and scope, competition and market types, for example oligopoly. Further the paper, examines the concept of clusters as it applies to the in…

The Netherlands Antilles: trade and integration with CARICOM (revisited)

Introduction The study of trade and integration (LC/CAR/G.681) between the Netherlands Antilles and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) was undertaken to assess the nature and extent of trade between the two groups of countries as well as the institutional framework for facilitating such trade. In addition, the study considered integration options for increasing trade, in particular Netherlands Antilles exports to CARICOM. Assessment of the export structures of the two groups revealed similarity in goods and services produced but a more diversified export structure in the case of CARICOM. Th…

Selected statistical indicators of Caribbean countries, vol. XVI, 2003

The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Subregional Headquarters for the Caribbean and Secretariat to the Caribbean Development and Cooperation Committee (CDCC), is pleased to present the seventeenth volume of the Selected Statistical Indicators of Caribbean Countries (SSI). This publication represents a compilation of original nationally produced and officially published statistics on select indicators for the year 2003. Where available, 2004 and 2005 figures have been included. The aim of the SSI is to serve as a single source of Caribbean statistics on national…

CARIBTRADE, trade statistics database: user manual

Describes the Caribbean Trade Statistics Database, explaining the reasons for its creation. Identifies its functions and capabilities. Outlines the process of design, listing the design considerations. Provides detailed instructions for navigation of the system. Presents an overview of the current content of the database. Provides a reference guide of terms used in the analysis of trade indicators.…

Export promotion policies in CARICOM Caribbean economies

Discusses the objectives behind export promotional policies, their methods, and the benefits to be derived. Describes, analyses and assesses export promotional polices in the case of CARICOM Caribbean economies. Examines the physical and institutional context, and instruments for export promotional policies, and the analyses their implications and impact.…

Criteria for the efficient coordination of the activities for data collection and the design of instruments for mapping and data collection applicable to countries of the Caribbean

The paper highlights the importance of good economic and social data to measure the change in the economy and the society in the light of external stimuli. It also highlights the need for governments to base policy decisions on good data. The paper discusses the issues of design and coordination of data collection mechanisms in a manner that optimizes the limited resources available for data collection and ensures that the data collected fit into an information mosaic that enables planning. To the extent that knowledge of self is the first step towards self-actualization, the success of any s…

The Millennium Development Goals: Challenges for the Caribbean

Analysis of trade flows between Puerto Rico and CARICOM and prospects for integration

Puerto Rico and Caribbean Community (CARICOM); Caribbean countries share important common characteristics. They are open economies and while their trade specialization patterns are heterogenous, historical, institutional and geographical factors have shaped export and import linkages that are closely tied to those of the United States and Western Europe. CARICOM Caribbean economies and Puerto Rico also adopted, early on, a common approach to development, that of 'industrialisation by invitation'. Its main elements included fiscal incentives, the attraction of foreign direct investmen…